Ubuntu Screenshot Shortcuts Guide | Generated by AI
Question: How do I take screenshots in Ubuntu? I’m looking for the equivalent of macOS shortcuts like ⌘ + Ctrl + 4 or ⌘ + 5.
Answer:
On modern Ubuntu (GNOME), the screenshot shortcuts are very similar to macOS.
| Action | Ubuntu | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Full screen | PrtSc |
⌘ + Shift + 3 |
| Select area | Shift + PrtSc |
⌘ + Shift + 4 |
| Current window | Alt + PrtSc |
⌘ + Shift + 4, then Space |
| Screenshot UI (record/screenshot) | PrtSc (Ubuntu 22.04+) |
⌘ + Shift + 5 |
| Copy to clipboard | Hold Ctrl with any shortcut |
Hold Ctrl with macOS screenshot shortcut |
Most useful shortcuts
PrtSc
Opens Ubuntu’s screenshot interface (similar to macOS ⌘ + Shift + 5), where you can:
- Capture the entire screen
- Capture a window
- Capture a selected area
- Start screen recording (Ubuntu 22.04+)
Shift + PrtSc
Select a rectangle to capture.
Equivalent to:
⌘ + Shift + 4
on macOS.
Alt + PrtSc
Capture only the active window.
Ctrl + Shift + PrtSc
Capture a selected area to the clipboard instead of saving it.
Equivalent to:
⌘ + Ctrl + Shift + 4
on macOS.
Likewise:
Ctrl + PrtSc→ full screen to clipboardCtrl + Alt + PrtSc→ active window to clipboard
Where screenshots are saved
By default:
~/Pictures/Screenshots/
(or sometimes directly in ~/Pictures on older Ubuntu versions).
Command-line screenshots
If you prefer the terminal:
gnome-screenshot
Capture an area:
gnome-screenshot -a
Capture the active window:
gnome-screenshot -w
Delay 5 seconds:
gnome-screenshot -d 5
If you’re on a laptop
Many laptops require holding the Fn key because PrtSc shares a key:
Fn + PrtSc
or
Fn + Shift + PrtSc
depending on the keyboard.
References:
- Ubuntu GNOME Screenshot documentation: https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/screen-shot-record.html
- Ubuntu Desktop Guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/screen-shot-record.html